I’m happy to announce that Kerry Gough has joined Children Rising’s Board of Directors. A retired civil rights attorney, Kerry’s interest in civil rights began when, as a young soldier, he blew the whistle on the Army’s collaboration with racist Monterey Peninsula landlords who refused to rent to African American armed forces personnel. That experience sparked his passion for civil rights, which led to a summer as a civil rights worker in Mississippi in 1965, employment by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on assignment to southeastern Mississippi, and 42 years as a civil rights attorney in Oakland.

Upon his retirement on April 15, 2008, Kerry joined forces with Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, and less than a month later, went to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo for a two-week exploration into how victims of sexual assault could be assisted legally. This led to a six-week stint in Goma the following year and eventually to the establishment of some legal clinics staffed by third-year Congolese law students supervised by Congolese attorneys.
Kerry received his Juris Doctorate degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley, in 1966. His community service background includes a stint on the Global Strategies Board of Directors; President of the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County; President of Allied Fellowship Service, a half-way house for ex-offenders; and advisory board member for Project Sentinel, a nonprofit that investigates, mediates and litigates housing discrimination cases.

Welcome aboard, Kerry Gough!

For the children,
Randy